As is generally known, sterile surgical drapes can be designed to greatly reduce, if not prevent, the transmission through the draping material of liquids and biological contaminates which may become entrained therein. In such surgical procedure environments, liquid and biological contaminates include, for example, operating room personnel perspiration, patient liquids, such as blood, and life support liquids, such as plasma and saline.
In the past, reusable surgical drapes were made of cotton or linen and were sterilized prior to use in the operating room. These materials however permitted transmission or "strike-through" of various liquids encountered in surgical procedures. In these instances, a path was established for transmission of bacteria and other contaminates to and from the patient. Disposable surgical drapes, which are also sterilized prior to use in the operating room, have largely replaced reusable surgical drapes, such as linen and cotton surgical drapes.
While both the selection of the fabric material and the incorporation of other materials into the draping fabric may be required to form a surgical drape suitable for providing a sufficient barrier protection to prevent the transmission of biological contaminates through the draping material, the design of such drapes is also an important consideration. Ideally, the design of the drape should be such so as to cover the patient and extend a sufficient distance below the operating room table. The extension and continuity of draping material below the surface of the operating room table is important for maintaining the sterility of the operating site.
Because the shape of operating room tables vary, so to will the design of surgical drapes vary. As the complexity of the shape of the operating room table increases, so to will the complexity of design of the surgical drape increase. For example, a surgical drape of rectangular design may be suitable for a overlying the patient reclined on a rectangular operating room table. However, the design of a surgical drape for overlying a patient reclined on a T- or L-shaped operating room table must take into consideration the additional contouring of these tables to provide for sufficient extension and continuity of draping material below the surface of the operating room table.
In the case of a T-shaped operating room table, the surgical drape may be generally T-shaped. The lower component of the T-shaped drape is generally considered as the main panel of the drape. The main panel of the drape generally covers the patients chest and lower extremity areas and overlies the main body of the operating room table. The upper component of the T-shaped drape is generally considered as the wing portion of the drape. In most instances, the wing portion of the drape overlies the patient's arms and arm boards or wings of the operating room table.
To ensure adequate coverage of both the patient and the operating room table, particularly around union of the main body of the operating room table and the arm boards, some surgical drapes, and particularly "T" shaped surgical drapes are provided with additional structure in the area around the intersection of the main panel of the drape and the wing portion of the drape. However, these drapes are generally two piece drapes, having a main panel and wing section. The wing section may include a multiple-folded sheet of draping material which is attached to the upper edge of the main panel. While this design may provide the required coverage of the patient, operating room table and arm boards, this design is labor intensive to assemble, requiring the preparation of a pre-folded sheet section followed by attachment thereof to the main panel.
Therefore, there exists a need to provide a surgical drape of simple design for use on a plurality of different shaped operating room tables, such as T or L-shaped operating room tables. The resulting drape should be of sufficient dimension for covering a reclining patient and provide the required extension and continuity of material below the surface of the operating room table in order to preserve the sterility of the operative site. The design of such a surgical drape should further permit a more efficient utilization of drape material. Additionally, the design of such a drape should also afford easy assembly, packaging and unfolding about the patient.